Upon hearing "Rolling Dragon," the entire government office immediately fell silent.
Chen Fan immediately stood up and asked, "Where is the Rolling Dragon located?"
The Imperial Astronomical Bureau official, panting, said, "It's... northeast of Luoyang, most likely in Jizhou!"
"Jizhou?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Fan's breath hitched, and Hu Guang, Li Ying, and the others exchanged bewildered glances.
The timing of this rolling dragon's arrival couldn't have been worse.
The emperor is now returning to his capital and is currently in Ji Province. A dragon has recently appeared there. What is the emperor's condition?
Furthermore, the emperor had just conquered the northeast, and now the rolling dragon had occurred. If this were to be exploited by certain people with ulterior motives, it would seriously damage the emperor's prestige.
Upon realizing the gravity of the situation, the ministers in the government office became solemn, and all turned their gazes toward Grand Tutor Chen Fan.
Chen Fan pondered for a moment, then looked at the officials and said in a deep voice, "Minister of Ceremonies, immediately send someone to Jizhou to inquire about His Majesty's situation and that of the disaster area."
"promise!!"
Then Chen Fan looked at Hu Guang and said, "Minister, go to the palace immediately and ask the Empress Dowager to order the mobilization of the Imperial Guard, the Tiger Guard, and the Northern Army to Jizhou to maintain order there!"
"good!"
Hu Guang nodded and quickly turned to leave.
"Grand Commandant, immediately issue an order to mobilize troops from the commanderies and kingdoms of Sili, Yanzhou, and Jizhou, and have them set off for the disaster area."
"promise!"
"Sikong, immediately mobilize 50,000 students from the engineering and medical colleges, prepare to depart for Jizhou early tomorrow morning."
"promise!"
"Grand Minister of Agriculture, immediately organize the royal trading companies and all factories and workshops to urgently produce relief supplies such as cotton cloth and clothing. At the same time, order the local governments in Ji and Yan provinces to immediately open their granaries and prepare for relief."
"promise!"
Li Ying, Yuan Feng, Cao Song, and others also accepted their orders and left.
Then Chen Fan looked at a clerk and said in a deep voice, "Immediately inform Yang Qiu to release all the people from his two Sili offices. Anyone who takes the opportunity to spread rumors should be arrested immediately, without asking any questions!"
"promise!"
Finally, Chen Fan turned to the other officials in the government office and said in a solemn voice, "Gentlemen, I have been entrusted by His Majesty to manage the affairs of the court. Now that a natural disaster has occurred in Ji Province, you should all perform your duties diligently, allocate resources and conscript laborers as soon as possible, and go to the disaster area for relief."
"promise!!"
The ministers responded loudly and then quickly dispersed, returning to their respective posts.
The entire imperial court was instantly thrown into a frenzy. Dozens of fast horses, carrying the court's orders, left Luoyang and headed towards Ji Province and the surrounding counties.
Inside Chang Le Palace, upon learning of the major earthquake in Ji Province, Dou Miao was quite frightened and immediately took out the Tiger Tally without hesitation.
At this time, Zhao County was completely reduced to ruins, with broken walls everywhere and the sounds of adults wailing and children crying filling the air.
There were almost no intact buildings in the entire city, and even the county government office had collapsed.
At the beginning of the earthquake, the county magistrate and his assistant, who were in their office, were unable to escape and were buried in the ruins, their fate unknown.
"Help me! Help me!"
From beneath the piles of rubble, cries for help could be heard continuously.
The surviving people frantically cleared the rubble, hoping to rescue their loved ones from the ruins.
"My child! Someone please save my child!!"
A young woman lay on the ground, crying loudly, hoping that people around her could help her rescue her child.
A burly man who was clearing the rubble nearby turned his head and glanced at the woman. He noticed that her legs were covered in blood, indicating that they had been broken.
The burly man's gaze lingered only briefly before he turned away to clear the rubble in front of him. His mother was also buried underneath, and he had to rescue her first before he could worry about anyone else.
Soon, the burly man found his mother lying in a pool of blood under a roof beam.
"Mother, Mother!"
The burly man shouted loudly, but received no response.
The strong man then used all his strength to move the roof beam and carried his mother out.
"Mother! Your son is unfilial!"
Seeing his mother covered in blood and lifeless, the burly man burst into tears like a child.
Like this strong man, many of the surviving people also held the bodies of their loved ones and wailed incessantly.
The surviving people looked at the corpses of their loved ones and their homes reduced to ruins, their eyes filled with pain and despair.
At the same time, Liu Hong was leading eight thousand soldiers of the Imperial Guard towards Zhao County.
Although the major earthquake had passed, aftershocks continued. Liu Hong and the soldiers of the Imperial Guard dared not ride their warhorses any longer and could only run forward.
Fortunately, Liu Hong and his group were not far from Zhao County. After running for half an hour, they finally reached a place three miles outside Zhao County.
At this time, most of the city wall of Zhao County had collapsed, and the remaining sections were covered with cracks and were on the verge of collapse.
As Liu Hong ran, he looked at the dilapidated city wall ahead and vaguely heard the cries and groans of the people inside the city.
"Quickly, go save them!!"
With bloodshot eyes, Liu Hong roared and then ran forward despite his exhaustion, with eight thousand soldiers following closely behind.
People closer to the city gate were weeping over the bodies of their loved ones, while many others tirelessly cleared the ruins with their bloodied hands, calling out the names of their loved ones.
Many other people, limping and leaning on wooden canes, walked towards the edge of the city, wanting to leave this place of despair.
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